NEWS & EVENTS

Japan Faces Disaster: A Look at COVID-19 and the 3/11 Triple Disasters

On Wednesday, September 23rd, the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | SAIS hosted a virtual round table seminar with Dr. Daniel Aldrich, professor and director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University.

His presentation, “Japan Faces Disaster: A Look at COVID-19 and the 3/11 Triple Disasters,” alternately titled “How the People Saved Japan (Twice),” emphasized the role of community centered resilience to emergencies. Professor Aldrich argued that in both the 3/11 Triple Disaster and the current COVID-19 pandemic, Japan has fared relatively well because of bottom-up responses to these crises, rather than just central government or private market responses. Despite its aging demographic, high population density, and frequently used public transportation system, Japan has had some of the lowest confirmed number of COVID-19 cases, in part because citizens in Japan stayed home and limited their normal daily interactions. Dr. Aldrich argued that strong social capital and mutual trust between civil society and the state are preconditions for this type of individual response to COVID-19 and to any national emergency.

Following his presentation, Dr. Aldrich answered questions from Reischauer research fellows, Visiting Scholars, and moderator Dr. Calder.